Under the option Strateco may earn an initial 49% by paying Denison $1 million and spending another $4 million by December 31, 2016. Strateco may earn an additional 11% by paying $2 million more and spending an extra $8 million by the end of 2019. Strateco will act as project operator.

The announcement came the same day that the TSX gave Strateco 120 days to regain listing requirements.

Strateco has stated its intention to seek uranium projects outside Quebec, which has imposed a moratorium on uranium exploration. The company has launched legal action against the province for its refusal to grant an exploration permit for its Matoush project.

Academics, explorers collaborate on Basin geochem research

Results are in from a “multi-faceted surface geochemical sampling program” that brought together academics and exploration companies in the south-central Basin. Although Uravan Minerals TSXV:UVN made the December 16 announcement, research focused on the Centennial deposit, a joint venture of Cameco Corp TSX:CCO and AREVA Resources Canada (59% each) with Formation Capital TSX:FCO (2%). Cameco holds a 51% option on Uravan’s Halliday and Stewardson Lake properties, the latter adjacent to Centennial. Working with the companies was the Queen’s University Facility for Isotope Research and Environmental BioTechnologies Inc.

The purpose was to determine under-explored uranium potential more quickly by identifying and evaluating geochemical and isotopic signatures in soils and trees.

The next step, stated Uravan, is to drill Stewardson Lake, which has already undergone 2011 geochem and 2013 ZTEM surveys. Details are pending.

With drilling planned early in the new year, Athabasca Uranium’s Keefe Lake has benefited from University of Saskatchewan research.

More academic work, this time from the University of Saskatchewan geosciences team, has benefited Athabasca Uranium’s TSXV:UAX Keefe Lake, Fisher River and McGregor Lake properties. USask boffins pored over the province’s mineral assessment data base to study over 114 assessment reports and datasets for 400 drill holes from established uranium deposits, the company stated December 17. Results give Athabasca Uranium three new high-priority drill targets. The most prominent concerns the 29,000-hectare eastside Basin Keefe Lake, scheduled for drilling in early 2014.

Subject to approvals Takara Resources TSXV:TKK plans to acquire a 9,180-hectare property near the northwestern Basin’s historic Uranium City. Under the agreement announced December 16, Takara would take over the vendor, Duckhorn Capital Inc, for $74,000 and 47.4 million shares and would also advance $10,000 for a 43-101 geological report. A third party holds a 2% NSR, of which Takara may buy half for $1 million.

Four days later the company announced private placements of five million flow-through shares at $0.05 and three million non-flow-through units, also for a nickel, for a total of up to $400,000. The offers depend on TSXV approval for a 10:1 reverse split for Takara stock, which has been priced at half a cent for several months.

Alpha raises $3 million, announces 2014 plans

Alpha Exploration TSXV:AEX greeted December 17 by offering a $2.5-million private placement only to raise it to $3 million by afternoon. By December 19 the offer had closed. Along with $3 million in buy-out cash from Fission Uranium, the Alpha Minerals spinco now has $6 million in spending money and, to go with it, exploration plans.

Included is a gravity survey over Middle Lake, one of the company’s projects in the Basin’s Cluff Lake area, with about 20 holes totalling 2,000 metres planned to begin in early February. Also in the Cluff Lake vicinity, Gorilla Lake will get radon in soil and water surveys west of previously drilled uranium intercepts. Drill core at Hook Lake will be logged and re-sampled. Additionally, Alpha plans to review geophysical surveys over its Mikwam gold property northeast of Timmins.

In brief…

With mine development “essentially complete,” jet boring has begun at Cameco’s Cigar Lake mine. Keeping with the most current plan, commercial production is scheduled for Q1 and milling for Q2 2014, the company reported on December 16. Read more about the mine and its delays here and here.

One of a number of companies to see private placements exceed expectations, on December 18 NexGen Energy upped its offer of the previous week from $2.5 million to $3.11 million. The placement closed two days later. The money goes to Rook 1 exploration. Still to come are assays from a nine-hole, 3,473-metre campaign at the Radio project, where the company holds a 70% option.

On December 20 Forum Uranium TSXV:FDC announced an increase in its private placement to $900,000 from the $500,000 originally offered two days earlier. The previous week the company stated it had chosen around 11 drill targets for its Clearwater project following geophysical and radon surveys. Ground EM work is scheduled for January, followed by drilling.

On December 19 UEX Corp TSX:UEX announced Roger Lemaitre’s appointment as president/CEO/director. His predecessor, Graham Thody, steps down from management but remains on the board. Lemaitre previously led AIM-listed URU Metals, a uranium and base metals explorer, and held a number of senior positions with Cameco. In late November UEX released final 2013 drill results for Shea Creek.